"Like where?" Tess jumped in, hopefully her PR brain was whirring productively now. "Work? The venue? Somewhere tied to the wedding?"
Shelby piped up. "Holy crap, that gives me an idea. I think she'd go where no one would look, like back to the Falcon Hotel. Closure and all that."
"I still have contacts at most hotels downtown," Tess said after a moment. "I'll make some calls, see if she's checked in anywhere. And I'll..." Tess paused, then continued with renewed determination. "…drive around the wedding venue area. She might have gone back there to process."
"I'll meet you there," Noah said, already grabbing his keys like this was just another late-night prototype run.
"And I'll head back to our apartment," Shelby stood, zipping her hoodie with purpose. "Because that's where I'd go if I wanted to hide in plain sight."
"Yeah," Zach said, the plan snapping into place like a well-fitted waistband. "This is good. I'll hit up her office. Maybe she stopped there? Text the group chain. First one to spot her pings everyone."
Then he paused, because whether she was ready to accept it or not, Piper was family. And his family was something special.
That's why he texted the mass family group chat and filled them in.
His phone buzzed with a text chain exploding like a string of firecrackers.
Anna: Serious? We're freaking.
Drake: Dude. Honeymoon's fine. Pillow war. I'm wrong. Anna's right. But Tess f'd up big. Call me.
Jase: Heather and I are in for the search party.
Beeps and dings sounded as pings flooded in from the rest of the family.
Babushka sent the same panda emoji she always did, with absolutely zero context.
Everyone agreed on search points, and Zach pocketed his phone. Grabbed his coat.
He was going to find her.
Not to fix her.
To show up. To be there so she wasn't alone. And maybe, just maybe, to remind her that some seams don't need ripping because they're meant to hold.
CHAPTER 26
2 DAYS AFTER ANNA & DRAKE'S WEDDING
PIPER
Piper's boots scuffed against the worn wooden floor as she slid onto the barstool, her shoulders tense, fingers wrapped loosely around her chilled glass of Cherry Coke.
She hadn't meant to be there. Hadn't meant to be spilling the latest chapter of her failures to Brek Montgomery, of all people.
And, yet, this is where she found herself.
Her fingers traced the condensation down her glass as she stared past it, voice low and unsteady. "Every time I get close to something resembling a relationship—mine or anyone else's? —it crumbles. Like clockwork."
She told him all about the weddings she’d planned and how they always ended badly. She told him about her parents. About Zach.
Across the polished bar, Brek leaned in, thick forearms sinking into the edge. Tattoos curled beneath the sleeves of his worn black tee. A crooked smile played at the corner of his mouth.
"Should I worry?" he joked, backing up an inch with mock-urgency. "I might catch your bad relationship cooties."
A laugh escaped her, but it dissolved before it reached her eyes. She tapped the edge of her glass, not looking up.
Brek didn't push. Just nodded slowly.
